Santa letters seek shoes, elves, bones

Dec. 7, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Sharon Gagon from Huntington Beach looks over letters sent to Santa at the Santa Ana District Post Office on Tuesday. Groups or individuals can adopt letters from children or families in need of presents for Christmas. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Chris Vasquez came from Whittier to look over letters sent to Santa at the Santa Ana District Post Office on Tuesday. This is the second year Vasquez has participated in the program. This is the 100th anniversary for Operation Santa. Groups or individuals can adopt letters from children or families in need of presents for Christmas. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Yvette Madrid of Rancho Santa Margarita reads a Santa letter from a family in need at the Santa Ana District Post Office on Tuesday. Groups or individuals can adopt letters from children or families in need of presents for Christmas. Madrid was picking out three letters for her mother, sister and herself. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Barbara Blaser from Santa Ana looks over letters sent to Santa at the Santa Ana District Post Office on Tuesday. Groups or individuals can adopt letters from children or families in need of presents for Christmas. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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This is one of 18 Santa letters available for adoption on the first day of Operation Santa at the Santa Ana District Post Office on Tuesday. All but two of the letters were adopted by a group or individual to provide families in need of presents for Christmas. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Yvette Madrid from Rancho Santa Margarita has a laugh with staff while picking out her Santa letter at the Santa Ana District Post Office on Tuesday. Groups or individuals can adopt letters from children or families in need of presents for Christmas. Madrid was picking out three letters for her mother, sister and herself. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Sharon Gagon from Huntington Beach looks over letters sent to Santa at the Santa Ana District Post Office on Tuesday. Groups or individuals can adopt letters from children or families in need of presents for Christmas.PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

RULES: Anyone who takes a letter must return to the Post Office with items they bought to be mailed by postal employees.

INFORMATION: 714-662-6227

They come in daily, bundles of letters addressed to Candy Cane Lane, Santa's Workshop and Polo Norte, with shout outs to the elves and, in one case, a request to actually own an elf.

They are written by boys and girls and sometimes down-on-their-luck moms and dads. And they hold enough Christmas spirit to light up Rudolph's nose, or at least, hopefully Orange County residents' hearts.

"Dear Santa, my mom and dad don't have a job and I want to help them but I'm too little," one boy writes. All he wants is shoes for himself and his brothers.

Over the next ten days you can go down to the post office headquarters in Santa Ana, sift through the letters and Be the Santa.

But be warned: You might have a little trouble granting some of the wishes.

"Can you please make Harry Styles follow me on Twitter," asks a girl named Danielle, referring to a member of the boy band One Direction. "Or even fall in love with me."

Another girl just wants Justin Bieber. She signs it Julia Bieber.

A boy named Matteo writes that he "really, really, really, really, really" wants a dwarf hamster, but his mom dad and sister are allergic to them.

"So could you use your holy magic to not make my family allergic to hamsters anymore? Circle yes or no."

And then there's this boy: "Dear Santa, this letter contains a very important message. I was going to ask you about receiving a couple of elves this year."

Preferably girl elves, he goes on.

The letters are scribbled in crayon and magic marker, folded umpteen times and stuffed into envelopes along with pictures of toys cut out of catalogs, sketches of snowmen and odes to Frosty.

They are authored by budding reporters, like this boy: "How is your wife? How do your reindeer fly? How do you get into apartments? How do you get down very small chimneys (like ours)?"

Budding humanitarians: "Dear Santa, can you please give the poor kids what they want," is all a girl named Diana writes.

Some are the star struck: "Can I have your (autograph)?" writes a boy.

Others are all business. One girl tells Santa to Google Kohls.com and then plug her specs into the search bar.

But for every savvy Santa letter, there's a note like this: "Dear Santa, it's unbelievable that you found Lumpy on the train!"

Or this: "Hi Santa. My mom is writing this for me. I will be 30 years old and I still believe in you. If I can get to the North Pole, how do I get in? Do you need a key?"

And, sadly, this: "I would like nothing. Just peace for my mom."

This year marks the 100th year that the U.S. Postal Service is seeking "elves" to step up to the plate at Christmastime. Operation Santa is a tradition that began back in 1912 under Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock. Last year, 1,300 Santa letters wound up at Orange County post offices. About 115 were deemed truly needy by postal employees. All 115 got scooped up.

A few years ago, a girl wrote asking Santa for an ear because he was born without one.

She got it.

So who are the needy this year?

One is a single mother of four who writes that she lost her job and can't afford Christmas dinner, let alone presents. She stapled copies of her medical bills to the letter.

Another is a girl who signs her letter Joanna: "Dear Santa Claus," she writes. "My dad lost his job so he goes to pick up boxes and cans to recycle them to get money to give us food. We don't have new clothes and shoes. We are so sad."

A girl named Sammy writes: "Dear Santa, can you plzz give One Direction tickets. And plzz can you find me hope in life. ooxx."

And from a boy: "Dear Santa Claus, please don't laugh at me if I tell you that I am already 16 years old. Well...I still believe in Santa Claus."

He goes on to write that he beat cancer three years ago. "I thank God for every day."

But he would really love to go to Disneyland.

If you can't afford to give a kid a ticket to Disneyland, there's a dog out there somewhere named Chewie who, according to a letter written on his behalf, has been "a very good dog." He would like a bone.

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